MyrtleBeachOnline.com: Immigration series

S.C. bills rely on sending criminals to homeland

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:02 EDT

In the summer of 2005, a young man from Mexico was shot to death after an alcohol-fueled argument in a Green Sea house full of migrant workers.

The others were quick to name two shooters, who were arrested, said Scott Hixson, the prosecutor who worked on the case.

In January of this year, well after the case should have reached the courtroom, 15th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Greg Hembree reluctantly signed an order dropping the charges, sending the two men back to their home country without standing trial.

The question of crime

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:40 EDT

Do illegal immigrants contribute more crime to communities?

Some people say they are responsible for additional crime, while others say they commit fewer crimes than citizens.

Others say immigrants are more likely to be victimized, and thus need extra protection. High-profile instances, such as several in the Grand Strand in recent years, also help shape perspectives:

Coroner's staff laments unclaimed remains

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:40 EDT

In the deputy coroner's office, serene photos on shelf after shelf depict headstones from the world's most lavish cemeteries - stone angels and crosses marking the graves of the wealthy or celebrated dead.

In one corner of the bottom shelf, however, is a small assortment of simple boxes, each containing the ashes of people that have never been claimed.

On one hand, the boxes symbolize a last bit of optimism that some friend or family member will come forward and say the person mattered enough to take the remains, said Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard. In a darker view, she said, they are mementos of the sting of failure.

Theories on crime

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:02 EDT

How much crime are immigrants, illegal or otherwise, responsible for?

Those who advocate for lower levels of immigration are often quick to find crime threats from immigrants, while other studies find evidence of lower crime rates.

The American Immigration Control Foundation, which bills itself as both an objective research and educational organization but also a "prominent national voice for immigration reform," offers a good summary of the points often made by anti-immigration activists.

Illegal immigration: Crime & consequences

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:02 EDT

On one side of thick glass, a blond teen with braces holds her 8-month-old daughter, who taps her little hands on the metal counter and, with wide brown eyes, chants, "Da-da-da-da."

On the other side, a young man in tan prison scrubs listens to the muted sound of his little girl's voice through tiny holes bored in the steel window frame. He looks up at the ceiling, covers his eyes with his hands and sighs deeply.

Margen Perez and Brittney Childers spend Perez's half-hour visitation days talking about the future. But, even if Perez is exonerated of the armed-robbery charge against him, his chance of a reunion with Brittney Childers is remote.

Immigrant domestic-abuse reports increase

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:02 EDT

With the help of a $300,000 U.S. Justice Department grant, advocates have spent the past two years trying to heighten awareness of domestic violence within Hispanic communities and encourage immigrants to report crimes.

They seem to have made progress: Police reports of domestic violence among Hispanic women increased about 9 percent in the past year, from 526 reports in 2006 to 575 in 2007.

But advocates say they still hear of many incidents that never get reported.

Many agencies take role in deciding deportations

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:02 EDT

Deportation cases are rarely the work of just one agency. They usually involve multiple levels of government, often with different priorities.

Because the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot afford to deport every illegal immigrant - or even every illegal immigrant who commits a crime - it prioritizes its deportation cases based on the severity of the offenses involved, said agency spokesman Richard Rocha.

He noted that deportations doubled from about 4,800 in 2006 to 9,700 in 2007 out of the Atlanta office, which covers Georgia and both Carolinas.

Immigration back on agenda

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:02 EDT

Immigration issues return to the legislative agenda Wednesday when a House-Senate conference committee meets for the first time in three weeks to try to resolve differences in their bills.

The main issue in contention is still whether individual employers should be held accountable for hiring illegal immigrants. The Senate version of the bill requires all employers to use a federal Internet verification system. The House bill imposes restrictions only on employers who have contracts with public agencies or governments.

Business groups continue to oppose the Senate version, while legislators say voters are clamoring for provisions that apply to all employers.

Immigration: The underground economy

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:02 EDT

Just after sunrise, 20 job-seeking men crowd Labor Ready's counter and chairs in Myrtle Beach.

After three days of trying, one man finally scores a $6-per-hour freight job. Another leaves with nothing.

Myrtle Beach resident Charles Harmon has been collecting unemployment for a month since being laid off from his road-construction job. The check pays his rent, but he's worried his utilities will soon be turned off.

Illegal workers bolster tax rolls

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:02 EDT

As S.C. politicians craft new immigration laws, the numbers they rely on are unverified cost estimates generated by avowed foes of immigration who some brand as a hate group.

Meanwhile, leading economists say illegally hired workers prop up the state economy and contribute almost as much to the state budget as they take out.

Fuzzy statistics

Family labors in shadows to make a living, help back home

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:02 EDT

Oil heats, sizzles and sparks off the stove. Clouds of steam puff around the pots.

Christina Baquedano turns around and smiles at the 10 men around her kitchen table.

"Este es su casa," Baquedano says. "This is your house."

Critics claim new S.C. immigration bills fall short, lack consequences

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:02 EDT

With much of the public demanding illegal immigrants go home, S.C. lawmakers are in the final stages of crafting new laws that may fail to achieve that.

Illegal immigration opponents and academics are in unlikely agreement: To drive illegal immigrants away, take away their ability to work.

Yet the legislature's 17-point package of proposals contains only five that focus on businesses, and none mirrors laws passed in states that have seen illegal immigrants leave.

A look at trends in immigration proposals at the state level

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:02 EDT

Last year, more than 1,500 anti-illegal immigrant laws were proposed nationwide, with nearly 250 passing, according to a count by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

This year, lawmakers across the country have proposed more than 350 immigration-related bills.

Here is a look at the types of bills offered: